Kai Mahou Konbu
by TouNiiSan
Summary: Metal Knight's research into interdimensional portals leads to his discovery of Fiore, Crocus, and the Grand Magic Games. Ever eager to get his hands on new weapons technology, he volunteers a team for the Grand Magic Games...
1. Prologue

It was a normal evening and Saitama was spending it in his normal apartment washing the dishes. Monsters appeared as usual, but for Saitama, a monster showing up was no different than an insect that needed to be swatted (mosquitos were another matter).

That is, until his cyborg disciple disrupted his normality.

"Sensei!"

"Oh, Genos."

"Would you like to participate in a tournament?"

"There's a tournament that I'm already thinking of participating in though."

"I see. Do you mind if I see the tournament dates?"

"You seem awfully eager about this." Saitama noted, handing his disciple the ticket. Genos glanced over the dates on the ticket.

But the tournament was anything but fun for Genos. Not because of the participants or the location, but because of the circumstances that lead the blonde cyborg to ask Saitama-sensei for this favor.

It began with Metal Knight contacting him through a private channel.

"As a result of my experiments with interdimensional portals, I have encountered a country in another world called Fiore. In forty-eight hours, it will host a tournament called the Grand Magic Games in its capital city Crocus. I have already entered our 'guild', by which I mean a select group of heroes under a temporary name specifically for the purpose of this competition, into the tournament; we will participate for the sake of facilitating diplomatic relations."

Genos was not amused. "You were never one to mince words, Metal Knight. 'Diplomatic relations' is only an excuse to compete in a tournament and secure weapons. I refuse."

"Don't be hasty, Demon Cyborg. This mission was explicitly ordered by Executive Shicchi to help us fight the Human Monster Garou and counter the late Shibabawa's prophecy. Our world alone may not be enough for the disaster to come. Your interest of justice coincides with this mission perfectly."

"Tch."

"The tournament requires a total of five people - six with one backup. You are not the only S-class I have requested for this mission."

"Then I accept under one condition."

"What will it be?"

"That another hero of my choice enters our team."

"Is he an S-class?"

"B-class, but that will be of no consequence."

A pause, then Metal Knight spoke. "Very well. I cannot imagine why you would invite a B-class but that is none of my business. And another thing..."

"Genos, you're thinking too hard. Steam is coming out of your ears. Is something wrong?"

Genos snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh, sorry, Saitama-sensei. I just wanted to tell you that the tournament's dates do not conflict."

"Okay then. What's in it for me?"

"A cash prize of 30,000,000 Jewels and recognition as the strongest guild in the country."

"Jewels?"

"Their money system."

"So how much Yen is that?"

"This is a separate world and we don't have much communication with it so there isn't a defined conversion rate. When we get there, we can find out how much 30,000,000 Jewels will buy us."

"Okay then."

* * *

Meanwhile, in Metal Knight's hidden base, Child Emperor decided to discuss the participating heroes with his former mentor.

"Why not Superalloy Darkshine or Pri-Pri Prisoner?"

"Darkshine is already on a mission. And there are far too many pretty boys in Crocus for Pri-Pri to exercise anything remotely close to restraint."

Child Emperor nodded. By Pri-Pri's own admission, exposing him to pretty boys was like exposing a hungry wolf to a flock of sheep. His lack of restraint would flush any deal with Fiore down the toilet, and no amount of drones would be enough to keep him in check. Not that it was worth it, wasting drones to hold back other heroes.

Being Metal Knight's former assistant and the only one who can operate the communicator with Metal Knight between worlds, Child Emperor was a must-have. Ironically, Metal Knight himself was unable to go. Participants had to participate in-person, and while summoning robots was legitimate, there was no way that Metal Knight would put himself in that kind of risk.

Of the top three S-class heroes, Blast only ever appeared when he chose to, the esper brat Tatsumaki flatly refused to use her psychic powers for "a magic show", and Silver Fang was actively hunting for Garou. Atomic Samurai also refused but volunteered his disciples so they could train for when they encounter Garou. Watchdog Man refused in order to continue guarding Q-City and Zombieman and Drive Knight did not respond. King was specifically requested for this mission by Shicchi for the most secure outcome.

"But don't you think the name 'King' would cause some controversy in a monarchy, Metal Knight?"

"Fiore is ruled by a king, but only by the king of Fiore. We come from a different country in a different world ruled by people he does not know of. So unless the king of Fiore is a tyrant and a dictator we have nothing to worry about." And even if he was, no force he could muster would be enough to prevent five S-class and one B-class from escaping.

This left Pig God, Lightspeed Flash, and Metal Bat. A Disaster Level: Demon Hungry Hot Dog drew Pig God away to fight it and Lightspeed Flash and Metal Bat decided to participate, forming their team of five.

The day of their arrival introduced some last-minute changes. Metal Bat, Child Emperor, Genos, Saitama, and King all arrived, but Lightspeed Flash was nowhere to be seen.

"I just got a message from Metal Knight." Child Emperor said. "It turns out that Lightspeed Flash and Garou fought while the portal was on and both disappeared through the portal." More like Metal Knight intentionally allowed for this to happen to get Silver Fang on the team, he thought privately. Even without any objective proof, the setup was obvious.

King looked furious, although for the strongest hero, even "furious" was putting it too lightly. His glare looked like it could have come from a disturbed viper or bear. The frown on his face had the intensity of a tyrannical dictator. And the King Engine was not just booming, but roaring for blood, moreso the blood of Shicchi than the competitors of the Grand Magic Games. It was not the face of an ambassador on a diplomatic mission.

But Shicchi wouldn't have it otherwise. King going with the group was mandatory, whether as a fellow competitor or as backup in case the worst possible situation was realized. To realize this end, he sent agents for the Association after King, begging him to lend a hand, even if it cost them their lives doing so. Eventually the noise ended up being too much for King and he ended up leaving his apartment anyway and joining the group.

And Metal Knight's plot worked: Bang did arrive with his brother Bomb, Bang reasoning that it is likely that Garou may want to fight the other participants of the Games.

"So this is everyone, right?" Metal Bat asked annoyedly. "Alright, let's get going."

"HOLD IT!" The men all turned to look at the source of the shrill voice: the 28 year-old childlike psychic Tatsumaki.

"You're thinking of going without me?!"

"You refused us outright-"

"Shut up Child Emperor! What I meant was you should have let me handle this alone!"

Child Emperor sighed. In what world did "I refuse to use my magic powers for a magic show" translate to "you should have let me handle this alone"? "We're on a diplomatic mission and you're hardly the diplomatic type."

"Hmph! Hey! Are you leaving without me?!" The other six men had already begun to step through the portal already and Tatsumaki followed suit.

Meanwhile, a certain ninja watched as the bald head he has been chasing in recent months disappeared through the portal.

* * *

"Baldy! Pervert! Octopus! Glass dome! Boiled Egg!" If there was one thing the S-class rank 2 hero was good at besides being a powerful psychic, it was being a brat. "Why don't you turn back already and save us the trouble of having to scrape your corpse off the floor of the stadium, huh?!"

"It was part of Demon Cyborg's request, which Metal Knight agreed to." Bang explained, having deduced the events that lead up to Saitama's participation. "I have little need to say this again, but you will not find him disappointing."

"And even so, he's still backup. Might as well let him tag along." Child Emperor said nonchalantly.

The group had exited through an enormous metal gate, around which was surrounded the bodies of ten or twenty armored soldiers. Most of them had lost their armor and whatever armor was scattered around was dented in multiple places.

"Garou again?" Metal Bat asked, bat at the ready. Silver Fang had only a grim glare as he walked around.

"No sign of him. Or Lightspeed Flash."

"Don't worry. None of them are dead." Bomb said, referring to the scattered soldiers.

"Of course they aren't." Garou was never one to kill needlessly, although Bang couldn't remember the last time Garou killed at all.

"They were the escort prepared for our arrival." Child Emperor noted. "Metal Knight didn't account for the possibility that Garou would have gone through the gate. Garou's from our world, so Fiore might think he's on our side. We better send someone over to the palace to clear things up quickly, Silver Fang preferably."

Of course Metal Knight knew this would happen. Child Emperor thought. If there are strong heroes on this side, Garou would cripple them, thus making it all the more important that we work together. This was the same man who was suspiciously absent for the S-class meeting, allowed the Dark Matter Thieves to shell A-City to the ground, and returned through a drone to salvage whatever weaponry was left. And if it wasn't Metal Knight, it was Shicchi, who invited supervillains to the Association's HQ to work with the heroes against the threat to humanity, although unlike Metal Knight's plan, that completely failed to work. Metal Knight's plan is cruel, but for the sake of getting rid of this monster and making them understand our position it is necessary.

"It's a dark place for a welcome." Saitama noted dully.

"Don't worry, sensei. Child Emperor and I have plenty of light sources. We should be able to find our way out of this dungeon."

"Alright."

"Garou has also made his way out of this dungeon," Bang noted. "I doubt it will be too difficult if we find an exit ourselves."

After ten minutes of being unable to find an exit, and having concluded that they were actually quarantined because of Garou, Tatsumaki leveled a sizable chunk of rock and the group crawled to the surface.

* * *

A/N: So, this is the prologue. Fairy Tail will appear in the first (next) chapter, but until then, hope this is a good start. It's been some time since I've published anything.

I've also noticed a few mistakes that I might have missed out the first time, as well as scenes that could be improved, so I may edit some chapters as I go.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The sun was still shining above the blooming capital city of Fiore as the heroes walked out from under the boulder that Tatsumaki levitated for them. There was a lot to take in among the medieval spires and archways but the heroes were strictly here for business: pick up weapons, give them to Metal Knight and leave. Or at least that was what went on in Saitama's head. The other heroes had more elaborate thoughts.

"It's still morning." Genos noted. "We're early."

"Did we bring food?" Saitama asked. "If not, I'll be looking to see if there are sales."

"There is no need for food or money." Child Emperor explained. "We are here on a diplomatic mission; the king will be providing our necessities for our stay here."

"Then it is all the more important that my brother and I go to sort out matters." Bang said.

"Yes, it's a good idea not to upset a king who has provided for us so generously." Bomb added.

The martial arts brothers headed to the castle, which towered above nearly every other structure within the city's walls.

"Alright, which way to the hotel?" Saitama asked.

"This way, Sensei."

As they walked in the direction of the hotel, Saitama couldn't help but feel that something was particularly off. The town was bustling and lively, but their group, which was full of bickering heroes, was quiet. Too quiet.

"Look mommy! An egg!"

"Hush, Asuka! That's rude!"

That was just the occasional kid pointing at his bald head, not the floating psychic brat. In fact, the brat has been noticeably quiet, despite her annoyingly chatty personality.

Genos was the first to notice. "What happened to the shitty brat? Not you, Child Emperor."

"Tatsumaki? She flew off back towards the gate to float survivors out of the quarantine zone." Child Emperor said.

"Esper brat's a brat, but she does whatever a hero has to do." Metal Bat shrugged.

Tatsumaki's nagging wasn't the only thing that was missing. The sound of the King Engine had long disappeared; King had spied something in the direction of the palace and said he would go to check it out. The other heroes left him to his devices.

What he had actually noticed was a long-haired girl who resembled the tsundere Red Princess in Kingdoms of the Rainbow 3, except for the dark bags under her eyes, and the intricate mark on her right breast.

 _DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM_

* * *

"Quattro Cerberus's Rocker attacked the Royal Guards?"

"He's highly suspected of doing so."

"Highly suspected is an understatement. He's virtually guilty."

"What do you mean?"

A small crowd of fans of the guild was gathered near a fruit smoothie stand. Natsu and Lucy, who had arrived with the rest of Fairy Tail ahead of time and decided to tour the capital city with Happy in tow, lined up for smoothies.

"I mean that the guy who pulled off the destruction had yellow hair split at the top. Just like Rocker's."

"So you think because he has the same hair he's guilty?"

"I hope not, but it's too likely to be otherwise."

"I've heard of Quattro Cerberus before." Lucy noted to her companions. "Rocker was in the Sorcerer's Magazine a couple of times."

"Quite a scandal, aye?" Happy asked.

"Yeah."

"I don't get it. This guy beats up a few soldiers and everyone's acting like it's a big deal. We beat up soldiers all the time." Natsu said.

"That's because you're responsible for almost everything that gets destroyed in your missions. They've gotten used to it by now." Lucy sighed. "Rocker is another story altogether."

Meanwhile in a cola store in Crocus, another small group of bystanders were talking about the incident.

"Soldiers destroyed, the King's chambers wrecked… are you sure it isn't Fairy Tail?"

"You're really behind the times if you think it's Fairy Tail. How could the last place team for the past seven years get into the King's chambers and cause that much damage?"

"Yeah, must've been thinking about the time seven years ago, when a lot of its stronger members just up and vanished."

Elfman and Lisanna walked into the store to grab some cola and looked at each other questioningly.

"I've heard that they've returned though. Are you sure it's not Salamander?"

"No, definitely not. They say the suspect popped into the chamber fighting some girl with a sword."

"Not Titania?"

"No. They say she looked completely different."

"Did they get her three sizes?"

"They couldn't even if they tried. She was really fast. They almost couldn't see her."

"What was the culprit like?" Lisanna asked, more eager to know more about the situation than speculate about the three sizes of a very fast girl who happened to appear with the palace invader.

"Blonde hair, parted toward the top."

"Wait, are you suggesting that Rocker somehow appeared in some palace treasure room fighting a woman with a sword?"

"Who else could it be?"

"Someone who pulls a sneak attack on soldiers isn't a man!"

"Tell that to Rocker. He might be arrested now so you'll have to wait though. Nobody in the palace is that slow at catching criminals."

* * *

Guild master Goldmine of Quattro Cerberus was not in a good mood.

Crocus threatened to revoke Quattro Cerberus's participation on grounds of a suspected attack. The suspect, a lone man with light-colored hair parted into two tufts, attacked a group of Fioran knights guarding the King's private chambers. Or at least that was the story that the chief investigator told him. He seemed a bit shifty about what the guards were actually guarding, mentioning a secret treasure compartment when the subject was brought up again, and a historically significant archaeological site when the subject was brought up once more.

In any case, the first, and only, person Fiore's guards sought out for questioning was Rocker. Nobody else in the previous seven years of the Grand Magic Games had that unique hairstyle, not even his fans. It didn't help that the guards that fell near the gate were all brought down with martial arts attacks, and Rocker was known for his melee prowess.

But there were a lot of guards that fell. Too many even for Rocker to handle normally. Some were still being brought in with magical stretchers.

"Did you get a hit in?" Goldmine asked one of the wounded guards.

"I don't think anyone did." The guard replied miserably.

"He brushed our attacks away…" Another added. "Like a river brushing away dirt…"

"Hey, I don't think we were that bad…"

"Nah let's face it, we couldn't have been worse…"

Now that was suspicious. Rocker was good, but he shouldn't be so good that a couple of guards armed with weapons couldn't land a single hit on him. Moreover, Rocker's Drill 'n Rock was a "spinning attack", more like a tornado than a river.

Finally Goldmine approached the door to the room where the guards were interrogating Rocker. He reached a hand out to knock.

The door opened before his hand actually rapped on the door. Two tall silver-haired old men, one with a mustache and dressed in a black long-sleeved shirt and white pants and the other balding and dressed in a shinobi shozoku, walked out. Behind them was Rocker.

"Master! This was all a misunderstanding-"

"I know, Rocker, I know. I knew it wasn't you." Goldmine said. He turned to the two old men.

"He's innocent, right?"

The old man with the mustache nodded. "Of course he is. He just happened to have the same hair and preference for physical attacks. Most people wouldn't be able to tell him apart from the actual culprit."

"Thanks for bailing me out, old man!" Rocker shouted gratefully.

Bang nodded. "I'm not an authority figure; just a witness." He and his brother walked away. "Next stop, clear things up with the King in person."

"Just a moment." Goldmine interrupted. The two old men stopped. "You said Rocker here looks like the culprit, but he's not him. Do you know who the culprit is?"

"A former student of mine called Garou."

The two old men walked away. Goldmine turned to his guild member.

"Where is everyone else for the games?"

"Uh, the guards had to lock them up because they were cheering too loudly." Rocker said. "Let's go get them."

* * *

"Give me a moment to check us in." Genos said, when they had arrived at the hotel. "Child Emperor, do you have the documents?"

Once they were checked in and in their rooms, Child Emperor decided to brief them about their mission and what it entailed at the hotel.

"As you already know, Metal Knight has reached this world by accident in portal research. When he did, he established contact with the king of Fiore and inquired about the weapons that the country had. The weapons are apparently interesting enough that Metal Knight is willing to trade some of his over. The king did have another stipulation though, that we participate in the Grand Magic Games. Traditionally it was a tournament in which teams of five, each from a particular guild, would participate in a variety of events, like the Olympics. Prior years have seen somewhere around 80 to 90 teams participating."

Saitama raised a gloved hand.

"Yes, old man?"

"The deal with the Reverse Magic Seaweed Games is that we have to use magic, right?" Saitama asked. "And don't call me 'old man'."

"Grand Magic Games." Child Emperor corrected. "There is no explicit rule that we have to use magic. It's assumed you're using magic from the nature of the Games, and in the spirit of the festival. Generally speaking, we conform perfectly. Nobody is going to be able to tell that whatever we use isn't magic. To quote Clarke's Third Rule: 'Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.'"

The Caped Baldy's face looked just as plain as it did before. Metal Bat just plain did not care, but Demon Cyborg understood, obviously. Child Emperor wasn't sure how to dumb it down for the other two men who clearly did not seem to get what he was saying.

"My incinerator, which has a strictly scientific basis, would count as magic because they don't know how it works." Genos explained.

"Oh I see."

"I could qualify by basis of my strength alone without my technology." Child Emperor added. "Most people wouldn't be able to understand the source of that strength, but I don't think I would win anything." He turned to Saitama. "Just be careful out there, old man. This is an S-class mission and you're only B-class."

Getting that lecture about ranking as though it represented his strength became very dull after the hundredth time, if it wasn't the first time, so Saitama changed the subject. "So what's our guild name?"

"Oh, you'll find out."

"If Metal Knight wants to do this so badly, why doesn't he come here and do it himself?" Metal Bat asked.

"Each battle must be fought in-person and on the off-chance that his drone is destroyed, however unlikely, our entire team will be disqualified for cheating. The king mentioned a case twenty years ago with an animated stone golem that drew a lot of fire – not the magical variety. The most Metal Knight can do for us is act as a guild leader, but neither he nor his drone are here. So we need to have someone act like the guild leader: Silver Fang's brother. It's too suspicious for me to be the leader and even if it's how we set up things, a guild lead by a kid is going to be looked down on for being juvenile. (At worst the King would think we were mocking him.) The Games are a big deal here, which means everyone in the country will be watching it, which obviously will affect our standing with the king."

"Garou should know the faces of the S-class, so he will come after us if we make enough of an impact in the tournament." Genos noted.

"Right where Silver Fang and his brother are waiting. Oh, and before you ask Metal Bat, yes I do have something so your sister can reach you. Here's the attachable commercial smartphone version of my interdimensional transmitter."

Metal Bat's eyes shot open. "I didn't know you had something like this! Thanks kid! Yer a real lifesaver."

"Don't mention it." Child Emperor said. "Well if there's nothing else, then this meeting is over. I'll brief Silver Fang and his brother about the contents of the meeting."

The door opened and the martial arts brothers entered the room.

"Back already?" Genos asked.

"The king wasn't present to receive us." Bang said. "Regardless, the captain of the guard told me that he does not blame us for his wounded guards. He also told us that Tatsumaki helped carry them to safety."

"Okay, that's good." Child Emperor said. Internally, he thought, _This quickly? Is he so busy preparing for the games that he's willing to overlook this incident?_

"Even so, it's not enough to just excuse us." Genos said. "Wouldn't it be too dangerous to let the games go on?"

"The captain told me that the king wishes it to go on regardless. He also said that guards will be posted throughout the city to watch out for Garou, and that he will let me know if anything further happens."

"How much does he know about Garou?"

"Only that his he's blonde, has parted hair, and is a martial artist. One man fit that description perfectly, but it was someone else."

"I see."

* * *

Leaving the martial arts brothers to catch up on the contents of the meeting through Demon Cyborg, Child Emperor headed downstairs to the cellar of the hotel. There, he took a communicator out of his backpack and turned up the interdimensional transmitter to talk with Metal Knight.

"Child Emperor in. We have reached the hotel and have finished discussing the details of the mission."

"Well done. But there is another favor I need to ask of you. As you have noticed, this deal has gone too smoothly and without a hitch."

"You want me to see if they have anything planned for us." Child Emperor finished. "Got it. I'm sending a Dig-Dig Doggy there to see what's up."

"Make sure your probe cannot be traced back to you. Use every precaution. I do not know the extent of our enemies' powers."

"Of course."

* * *

Hours later…

"Where's King?" Saitama asked.

"He seems to be taking his time." Genos said. "We last saw him in the morning and he hasn't been back since. What has he been up to?"

"The tournament is starting soon, right?" Saitama asked.

Too soon, as right after Saitama said that, a large projection of a short man with a pumpkin for a head appeared in the sky.

"Everyone in the guilds who have gathered together for the Grand Magic Games, good morning!"

"Did he cram so hard for the Games he pulled an all-nighter and only woke up now?" Child Emperor wondered.

 _Good one._ Genos admitted inwardly.

"Beginning now, we're going to take the 113 participating teams and have an elimination round to pare them down to eight!"

"Good, we got the short version." Metal Bat said in relief.

"Don't hold your breath, the events might be longer." Genos said.

"Don't kill me like that, chrome dome."

"Every year, the number of participating guilds increases and it was pointed out that the events were getting stale. This year, there will be only eight teams competing in the official games. The elimination rules are simple! All of you are going to race each other. The goal is the Games arena, Domus Flau. The first eight teams to arrive there will go on."

"Easy enough." Metal Bat said.

"Is Mister King here?" Child Emperor asked.

"No, he isn't." Genos said.

"You are free to use your magic. There are no restrictions. But remember, only the first eight teams to get to the goal will survive this round. However, all five members must arrive together or it doesn't count!

 _This isn't good._ Child Emperor thought. _Metal Bat, Demon Cyborg, Silver Fang, and me are the only S-class here. Silver Fang's brother is our "Guild Leader" so he can't participate, but the B-class could jeopardize our chances seriously! What were you thinking bringing him here, Demon Cyborg?!_

"And one more thing! We take no responsibility for any lives lost in the labyrinth."

"We're foreigners to this country. Do you think he might be plotting to kill us in the labyrinth?" Genos asked.

"Well if he does, let him try it!" Tatsumaki shouted.

"Only showing up now, Tatsumaki?" Metal Bat growled.

"I was always here! You just chose to ignore me!"

"Great. We should do it more often."

The earth began to rumble as parts of the city formed itself into a cracked shell in the sky. A staircase began to form from the balcony of their hotel.

"The Grand Magic Games elimination round! Sky Labyrinth begin!"

The heroes dashed up the staircase at superhuman speed. Child Emperor, to the surprise of some of the heroes, was not traveling on the four mechanical legs sprouting from his backpack, but on foot. A visor supported by an arm from his backpack was placed over his eyes and a camera that filmed the Labyrinth and was busy constructing a 3D map of the Labyrinth.

"Tatsumaki! Let's go!"

"Hmph! You don't have to tell me, Child Emperor!" Bang and Metal Bat followed.

"Sensei! Go look for King! We'll participate!" Genos shouted before running after the other heroes.

"Okay."

* * *

Metal Bat was silent, although it was clear from his face that he wanted to be done with the race as soon as possible.

"Is something wrong, Metal Bat?" Bang asked.

"…let's finish this as soon as possible." Those who knew him well immediately noticed that his sister had become upset at him over the phone. Ten minutes meandering through the labyrinth according to Child Emperor's 3D model didn't make things better; new routes had to be constructed, and the visual display only showed so much.

Finally, Metal Bat lost it.

"Let me try somethin'," he suggested, smashing his bat into the wall in the direction of the Domus Flau, revealing yet another team on the other side. Three of its members wore spiked collars, one wore a ragged dog suit, and the last appeared to be some kind of cyborg.

One of the members of the team had blonde hair parted in two. He immediately recognized one of the heroes.

 _Old man…?_ was what he thought shortly before he joined his teammates in their characteristic shout.

"WILD FOUR!"

"SHADDAP!"

A swing of the bat sent all five members of Quattro Cerberus out of the labyrinth.

On any other occasion, Child Emperor would have chided Metal Bat for beating the enemy without taking their maps, and personally, he would have liked to be less conspicuous, but Metal Bat busting holes through the Labyrinth was actually a better idea than piecing together the maps.

"Good idea, Metal Bat." Child Emperor noted.

"Mind if I help out?" Genos asked.

"Go ahead."

Genos extended both palms in the direction of the stadium. "INCINERATE!"

Large energy blasts, tens of meters in radius each, fired from both palms, destroying the next several walls ahead of them, breaking through the outer shell of the labyrinth, and narrowly grazing one of the heads of the shadow of one of the four wizard statues of the Domus Flau. A piece of the outer shell of the Labyrinth broke off and fell to the ground several floors below with a resounding crash.

* * *

Meanwhile…

A loud explosion startled Team Fairy Tail as Lucy assembled the maps they had gathered.

"What was that sound?" Lucy asked. The explosion, which was accompanied by a high-pitched whistle and the roar of wind was a sound that she wasn't particularly familiar with, even after having gone on numerous missions in which she would have to be extremely lucky to return to the Guild Headquarters without something exploding beforehand.

"I don't know," Erza said. "But we should get going. There's no time to waste. We can figure it out later."

Even Natsu, the fire dragon slayer who had created more than his fair share of loud, fire-induced explosions that resulted in orders of magnitude of property damage, was impressed by the noise. He admired the blast with a wide grin on his face. "Looks like we've got some competition! I'm all fired up!"

* * *

"…let's keep things in moderation or they may charge us for vandalism." Child Emperor suggested.

Suddenly, the eyes of the face on the outer shell of the labyrinth glowed. The floor beneath them began to turn, and as the heroes looked around them, the spire of the nearest tower went from pointing left to pointing downwards to pointing right. Their set of holes now pointed in the opposite direction.

"…give me a sec to reprogram the map." Child Emperor said.

"Or we can just fly in the opposite direction and keep doing what we were doing before!" Tatsumaki shouted. She levitated the other four members and proceeded to do just that, flying towards Domus Flau and busting every wall that stood in her way until they stood in a different-looking area.

"And you're supposed to be the smart one, Child Emperor!"

"I don't typically brute force my problems like this."

"Are ya sure we're still in the maze?" Metal Bat asked.

"We didn't make this tunnel." Genos observed. "Plus, the magic circles that supported the fallen contestants also haven't appeared under our feet yet."

"Okay, good. Now let's go."

* * *

Saitama ran from building to building throughout Crocus, looking for King. Of course, with strength, speed, and stamina enhanced by 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 leg squats, and 10 kilometer running every day, this meant that he had covered half the area of Crocus within the first thirty minutes, encountering only ten open late-night shops.

"Excuse me, have you seen a blonde guy? He has three scars over one eye. Like this." Most people looked at his depiction of the guy and shook their heads.

After covering another few blocks, one man told him that he had found a blonde man with a mullet and three scars over one eye at the Vinegar Pudding Bar. Saitama walked in to find King passed out next to a woman in a red dress foaming in the mouth at the bar.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the late update everyone. Here's the next installment. It took me a while to try to piece events together and involve Fairy Tail a little more. Part of me wonders if I've involved them enough. Hopefully I can give them more presence in subsequent chapters.

Edition: 3. Added more details.


End file.
